Exhibit: Between Two Worlds, until Nov 30 2009 @ National Museum

Between Two Worlds, an exhibition of stone sculptures by Mieke van Grinsven, runs at the Nairobi National Museum until the 30th November 2009.

Mieke van Grinsven is passionate about her art.

The inspiration for her current body of work came not only from the concept of bridging her native Europe to the culture of Africa but also from the very essence of the material in which she sculpts. She works with exceptional and rare stone of volcanic origins found in the heart of the continent. Faces and torsos shine through to captivate the viewer. Rooted in the earth but reaching to the heavens, the twenty pieces created in serpentine and opal stone evoke a feeling of other-worldliness.

“The stone speaks to me”, says Mieke, “I listen to my intuition. I see faces and bodies that reveal themselves from the inner stone.” Since discovering her preferred medium in 2003 her work has evolved from primarily faces to torsos and now groupings of figures. Mieke says it was a natural evolution and she was surprised when the pieces morphed into torsos that had equal expression even without a face. She has just returned from time spent at an artist’s studio at Pietrasanta, Tuscany in Italy where Michelangelo also found inspiration centuries ago.

Now a resident of Tanzania, Mieke has lived in Africa for over twenty years.

Exhibition: Amnesia, until Dec 31 2009 @ National Museum

Amnesia: “Sindika Dokolo African Collection for Contemporary Art”
Exhibition
04.11.2009 – 31.12.2009
National Museum Nairobi/ Museum Hill
Museum charges apply
+25420 2224640, vo@nairobi.goethe.org

Amnesia is a provocative conceptual framework for a cultural process with the intention of examining the cultural and creative consequences of collective cultural memory loss. It propagates the deconstruction of cultural consequences of multi-generational breakage & colonialism, such as displacement, loss, confusion, anger, pain, fear, mis-education & identity crises.

The project celebrates the cultural clash that begat multiculturalism and from it attempts to sow the seed of a common history which the present & future generations can excel in as brothers and sisters, irrespective of race, faith, gender or heritage.

Amnesia was structured into platforms, which were opportunities for Artists from Africa & its vast Diasporas of working together and address issues related to memory, Africanity, contemporaneity, identity, sexuality, politics, to individually and collectively create new visions for a future. Participating artists included IngridMwangiRobertHutter (Kenya/Germany), Aida Muluneh (Ethiopia), Andrew Tshabangu (South Africa), Bili Bidjocka (Cameroon), Ananias Leki Dago (Cote D’Ivore), Moataz Nasr (Egypt), Peterson Kamwathi (Kenya), John Kamisha (Kenya), Ogonga Thom (Kenya), Prina Shah (UK/Kenya), Ato Malinda (Kenya), Miriam Syowia Kyambi (Kenya), Jacob Wachira Ezigbo (Kenya) among Others.

This platform, “Made in Africa” is the beginning of a long journey of curated exhibitions, will showcase works by some of Africa’s most prolific and celebrated contemporary artists, starting with pieces from the Sindika Dokolo African Collection of Contemporary Art (SDACCA) in Angola. The Sindika Dokolo African Collection of Contemporary Art (SDACCA) was created seven years ago in Luanda. Since then it has launched the first African Triennial in Luanda Angola (2007) . It has also enabled the visit of important art figures such as Miquell Barcelo, Alfredo Jaar, Professor Henry Gates Jr., David Elliott to Angola. The dream of opening the first Centre for Contemporary art in Luanda by 2012 is now a reality. The unanimous decision of the jury in the Venice biennale (2006) in selecting the collection to represent the African Pavilion has confirmed the importance of linking the art world to the African continent, while greatly underlining the value of exposing the African public to its contemporary production.

The collection shall be presented by Fernando Alvim, Curator/Artist/Vice president of Sindika Dokolo Foundation.
The project & Exhibition is curated by writer, curator Simon Njami, curator of AFRICA REMIX, founder/editor of Revue Noire.
The project is directed & hosted by Nairobi Arts Trust / Contemporary Art of East Africa (CCAEA).

In cooperation with Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Sindika Dokolo Foundation (Angola), Ford Foundation, HIVOS, National Museums of Kenya, Arts Collaboratory, Mondriaan Foundation, Stichting DOEN.

Photo Exhibition: Turkana Cultural Festival, Feb 26th – Mar 19th 2009 @ National Museum

Opening of the exhibit February 26th at 6pm.
The first Lake Turkana Cultural Festival took place last June in Loiyangalani. The festival was organized by the German Embassy and cofunded by the EU-Commission. Joan Perreruan and other photographers captured some of the highlights of this unique event. In October, the photographs were shown in an exhibition at the Goethe-Institut. As a reaction to the interest elicited by the exhibition, a wider range of photographs comprehensively documenting the festival held at Lake Turkana will be on display at an exhibition at the Nairobi National Museum, Hall of Kenya. The German Embassy is planning to hold a second festival 15-16 May in Loyangalani at the Lake Turkana.

For more information please visit: www.nairobi.diplo.de or email to: pr-100[at]nair.diplo.de